Consumer Shares Rally Led by Consumer Discretionary Stocks -- Consumer Roundup

Shares of retailers and other consumer-services companies were higher, with consumer discretionary stocks continuing to lead gainers.

Jobless claims climbed slightly last week as demand for workers keeps a lid on layoffs. Initial unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, rose to a seasonally adjusted 351,000, from a revised 335,000 the week before.

In corporate news, the parent company of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse said it expects sales this year to outperform pre-pandemic levels, though it continues to feel pressure from inflation, staffing constraints and other operational challenges.

Darden Restaurants projected sales of about $9.4 billion to $9.6 billion in fiscal 2022, which ends in May. That compares with sales of $7.2 billion in 2021 and $7.81 billion in 2020. At the same time, the company sees inflation of about 4% as commodity and labor costs rise.

Blackstone's Service King Collision Repair Centers has begun to skip cash interest payments and tapped a line of credit as the pandemic has pushed down automobile traffic and raised costs for the business, according to people familiar with the company.

Online thrift store thredUP and Madewell, part of J.Crew Group, have opened a pop-up shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., that will sell used Madewell clothes for $10 to $40. The store is an extension of the two brands' Madewell Forever website, launched in July to sell used jeans.

 Write to Amy Pessetto at [e-mail] 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-23-21 1717ET